Soft Scroll

Download

One-click download (Windows):

⬇️ Download latest version

Note: Because the executable is not code-signed, Windows SmartScreen may warn on first run. Click “More info” → “Run anyway”.

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Soft Scroll is a small Windows utility that adds smooth, configurable scrolling across the system. I built it because I personally missed macOS-like smoothness on Windows and decided to share it with everyone.

• Windows 10/11
• .NET 8 (WPF)
• Global low-level mouse hook + injected wheel deltas

Quick start

1. Run SoftScroll.exe (no installer).
2. The app icon appears in the system tray.
3. Left-click the tray icon to open Settings.
4. Adjust parameters and click Save. Closing the window keeps the app running in the tray.

Build a single-file .exe into /dist

Run this once to create a portable single-file exe in the project root dist/ folder:

dotnet publish -p:PublishProfile=Properties/PublishProfiles/SoftScrollSingleFile.pubxml

The output will be:

./dist/SoftScroll.exe

Features

• Smooth wheel scrolling with adjustable parameters:
  • Step size [px]
  • Animation time [ms]
  • Acceleration delta [ms]
  • Acceleration max [x]
  • Tail to head ratio [x]
  • Animation easing (on/off)
  • Horizontal smoothness (on/off)
  • Shift key to force horizontal scrolling (planned)
  • Reverse wheel direction
• Tray app: left-click opens settings, right-click shows menu (Enable, Exit)
• Settings window opens automatically on first run

This project is not affiliated with any commercial tool named “SmoothScroll”.

How it works

Soft Scroll installs a low-level mouse hook (WH_MOUSE_LL). When a wheel event is detected, the original event is swallowed and a small background engine emits multiple smaller wheel pulses over time (via SendInput), applying an ease-out animation. Apps (browsers, explorer, editors) accumulate those deltas like regular scrolling, which feels much smoother.

Build from source (alternative)

Requirements: .NET 8 SDK, Windows 10/11.

• Clone the repository
• Open in Visual Studio 2022 (or run dotnet build)
• Run (F5)

Manual publish (equivalent to the profile):

dotnet publish -c Release -r win-x64 -p:PublishSingleFile=true -p:SelfContained=true -p:IncludeNativeLibrariesForSelfExtract=true -p:EnableCompressionInSingleFile=true -p:DebugType=none -p:DebugSymbols=false -o ./dist

Settings (suggested defaults)

• Step size [px]: 120
• Animation time [ms]: 360
• Acceleration delta [ms]: 70
• Acceleration max [x]: 7
• Tail to head ratio [x]: 3
• Animation easing: on
• Horizontal smoothness: on
• Reverse direction: off

Configuration file:

%AppData%/SoftScroll/settings.json

Use the “Reset All” button to restore defaults.

Known limitations

• Some games or full-screen apps may not like injected wheel events. Consider exiting the app while gaming.
• Per-app include/exclude list is not implemented yet.
• Start with Windows is not implemented yet.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Feel free to open issues, submit pull requests, or propose ideas. If you found this useful, a star helps others discover it.

License

MIT